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In case anyone missed the recent broadcast to the DDI Group, please note the following:

D&D Insider Subscriber,

Unfortunately, we will not have a data update ready for the D&D Insider tools in September. The process of integrating the new changes from Dark Sun and Essentials is taking a bit longer than we expected, and we plan to update the Character Builder in early October. We will continue to keep you informed of any changes to the schedule, and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Are you kidding me? They delay the update first two weeks so they could do Essentials at the same time and now they delay it another two weeks or more? At the same time they keep delaying all the Dragon content?

"Nice assumptions. Completely wrong assumptions, but by jove if being incorrect stopped people from making idiotic statements, we wouldn't have modern internet subculture." Kerrus
Practical gameplay runs by neither RAW or RAI, but rather "A Compromise Between The Gist Of The Rule As I Recall Getting The Impression Of It That One Time I Read It And What Jerry Says He Remembers, Whatever, We'll Look It Up Later If Any Of Us Still Give A Damn." Erachima

I'm not surprised: I expect the Character Builder was pretty tightly coded for the PH class structure, and adding both themes and classes which don't follow the usual patterns - hopefully as well as designing something which can accommodate whatever class design throws up in the future now it's clear that WotC aren't keeping every class in the same structure - was bound to be complex.

I wonder at what point the DDI developers realised how big a job this was going to be! I also wonder whether the coding needs are part of the design and development process - if you resource your digital department for basic data entry, a few small tweaks to UI for things like spellscars or backgrounds, and some extra resources for future products, it's difficult to see how that team can make changes to existing products in a timely fashion if the designers take the game's mechanics in a new direction.

Running D&D Adventurers League events in Sheffield, UK from August. Contact me for more details.

I received no such notice regarding any delays. I did get an invoice, however, for this months DDi charges. Not happy. At all.

This will be damaging to my already tiny player base for the next season of D&D Encounters. People were counting on an updated Character Builder to make characters for the next season. They won't be very happy either and the level of cyncism directed at WotC is thick enough to cut with a knife. People are still upset about the lack of Dark Sun updates to the CB and several people already quit coming to the Encounters sessions, disgusted.

These guys (WotC) really need to get their act together. I go out of my way to defend them at my FLGS and online but they're making it really difficult to continue supporting them.

Seriously?! It better happen before my sub expires, because with recent quality of Dragon and constant delays I'm not going to renew.

I would say it's a combination of this and Encounters. They want to make people buy the Essentials books for Encounters rather than print out character sheets from the CB. Also, after the really bad articles the past few months, more and more people planned on cancelling after Dark Sun/Essentials hit the CB.

I would say it's a combination of this and Encounters. They want to make people buy the Essentials books for Encounters rather than print out character sheets from the CB. Also, after the really bad articles the past few months, more and more people planned on cancelling after Dark Sun/Essentials hit the CB.

I suspect it's much more a matter of "themes and schools are much harder to implement than we thought" and less a matter of customer retention. If they could get half of the new players in the Encounters program to check out DDI specifically for Encounters, I suspect they'd be thrilled.

Quite honestly, I'm disappointed but not suprised. This isn't the first time an update has been pushed back several times and it won't be the last. At least they told us a week in advance it's been delayed this time.

In case anyone missed the recent broadcast to the DDI Group, please note the following:

D&D Insider Subscriber,

Unfortunately, we will not have a data update ready for the D&D Insider tools in September. The process of integrating the new changes from Dark Sun and Essentials is taking a bit longer than we expected, and we plan to update the Character Builder in early October. We will continue to keep you informed of any changes to the schedule, and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

I would say it's a combination of this and Encounters. They want to make people buy the Essentials books for Encounters rather than print out character sheets from the CB. Also, after the really bad articles the past few months, more and more people planned on cancelling after Dark Sun/Essentials hit the CB.

I suspect it's much more a matter of "themes and schools are much harder to implement than we thought" and less a matter of customer retention. If they could get half of the new players in the Encounters program to check out DDI specifically for Encounters, I suspect they'd be thrilled.

how long have they known DS/Essentials were coming? they have had months to write the code.

What does it mean for those of us who's subscription expires before the update? Its bad enough that D&DI content has been so sparse these last few months and now no updates for Dark Sun materials?

Its bad enough the updates are usually a month and a half behind anyways. How much longer is the D&DI team going to be allowed to work this way?

Check your mail system, like others I too never received notification of this.

Well this blows.

What does it mean for those of us who's subscription expires before the update? Its bad enough that D&DI content has been so sparse these last few months and now no updates for Dark Sun materials?

And what about those who only paid for this month but received no update at all?

It sounds like AL is going to ask about that for people. I suggest we wait and see the results, or people contact CS themselves to see what they say about either extending the account a couple weeks (to the update day, for example) or otherwise compensating people.

It sounds like AL is going to ask about that for people. I suggest we wait and see the results, or people contact CS themselves to see what they say about either extending the account a couple weeks (to the update day, for example) or otherwise compensating people.

If you feel strongly about it, there's no reason not to ask.

No immediate result on my end. Definitely, if you feel strongly about it, send an email to Customer Support and see what they say.

I intend to ask about getting an extra month added to active subscriptions... I don't know what results, if any, I'll get, but I will at least be asking...

I've already emailed CS about a partial (or full) refund for the month of September. I'm an annual subscriber, so I don't have the option to choose which month I subscribe to. So, when something like this happens, I'm screwed and paying for... What? Not what I am subscribed for (CB, Compendium and ATs updates).

I would recommend everyone who is a D&D Insider email CS and request a refund or additional month. The link to Customer Service is at the bottom of this page.

I hate to say this, but since day one, people who are subscribed to D&Di are subscribed for the Dragon and Dungeon magazines. The character builder monthly updates are extras which are not (supposedly) accounted for in the subscription cost.

So, if you are paying for D&Di and *not* reading the magazines, then, no, you *aren't* getting what you are paying for. If you are paying for D&Di and not getting the CB update for the month but *are* reading the magazines, then you *are* getting what you paid for.

Customer Service will probably tell you the same thing but in a nicer way (I hope.)

Updates are a part of the Character Builder/Compendium/Adventure Tools. Therefore, they are part of my subscription.

Thanks for playing!

I'll take the role of Devil's Advocate here.

Your subscription includes the Character Builder. You have a fully functioning (aka "unlocked") version of the Character builder.

It doesn't *explicitly* say that you're getting monthly updates (at least, not in what you copied).------------That said, perhaps it ~should~ promise "regular" updates (with the intention that these should occur more or less every month, but that for various technical reasons, it may be delayed some months).

Another non-vitriol laced (though I was tempted) request for at least partial refund sent to CS.

For some reason, WOTC seems determined to make starting my Dark Sun campaign as difficult as possible. First they push back the Creature Catalog, Then they push back the update for the tools until the week AFTER I planned to starth the campaign, now they cancel the update entirely.

Yeah, I can make characters by hand, have monster stats handy by marking appropriate places in books, etc. But I pay WOTC five bucks a month so I don't have to do those things. It irritates the hell out of me, frankly.

Another non-vitriol laced (though I was tempted) request for at least partial refund sent to CS.

For some reason, WOTC seems determined to make starting my Dark Sun campaign as difficult as possible. First they push back the Creature Catalog, Then they push back the update for the tools until the week AFTER I planned to starth the campaign, now they cancel the update entirely.

It isn't canceled. They're still going to have a release with the Dark Sun content. It's just been pushed back (again).

Your subscription includes the Character Builder. You have a fully functioning (aka "unlocked") version of the Character builder.

Nah. Again, if the "unlocked" version was what I was paying for, it'd be the current month's subscription I am paying for. Which means, each month, I am paying for the "unlocked" version of this month's release.

I already paid for those old updates. When I pay for this month, I'm paying the most recent update to the Character Builder. I own the old updates. They are on my computer. I can cancel right now and still have them.

This is what keeps me subscribing. If there is no update, then no subscription. I'm just in a boat where I have paid for a full year's worth of updates in advance.

Another non-vitriol laced (though I was tempted) request for at least partial refund sent to CS.

For some reason, WOTC seems determined to make starting my Dark Sun campaign as difficult as possible. First they push back the Creature Catalog, Then they push back the update for the tools until the week AFTER I planned to starth the campaign, now they cancel the update entirely.

It isn't canceled. They're still going to have a release with the Dark Sun content. It's just been pushed back (again).

It's cancelled for the month of September. I assume it will be in the regularly scheduled October Update (assuming that doesn't get delayed/cancelled too, which I wouldn't take bets on at this point), but that doesn't make me feel one iota better about paying for September.

Seriously?! It better happen before my sub expires, because with recent quality of Dragon and constant delays I'm not going to renew.

I would say it's a combination of this and Encounters. They want to make people buy the Essentials books for Encounters rather than print out character sheets from the CB. Also, after the really bad articles the past few months, more and more people planned on cancelling after Dark Sun/Essentials hit the CB.

Me, I just want the psionic power updates. Too bad they couldn't have just put those in for sept. As it stands, all the psionic characters are running with something like half the class options

I'm usually not a whiner. If I'm unhappy with a restaurant, I still leave a decent tip but I don't ever go back. Likewise, when I'm paying for a service, I stop paying when I don't see value in it any more. Well I'm starting to not see the value in DDi any more.

There's an alternate universe somewhere, where DDi is the cornerstone of the D&D product line. Where new players are pulled into the game by the shiny of the virtual gamer's table, where gamers actually look forward to the upcoming issues of Dragon and Dungeon because they're always filled chock full of awesome content (and the adventures automatically hook into the virtual gamer's table), and where subscribers to DDi feel like they're getting a fantastic deal on top-notch gaming materials and happily pull out their credit cards when it's time to re-up. (and while I'm at it, in this alternate universe, the website is actually organized in such a way that content is easily accessible, and it doesn't weird out in inexplicable ways all the time)

Sadly, I don't get to play in that universe. In my universe, I'm grudgingly subsidizing a loosely organized and poorly supported collection of software, hoping that one day they'll get the attention they sorely need.

Wizards, you guys need to wake up. Electronic gaming was *THE* future about 5 years ago. Right now you're being subsidized by gamers who grew up with D&D, and to a lesser extent, gamers who were pulled in when 3e D&D hit the scene. But that gravy train is fast pulling into the station. You're competing with the likes of World of Warcraft and other instant gratification eye-candy that you cannot possibly hope to compete with, without a polished and cohesive set of online tools. You don't have the luxury to just have your under-staffed staff update the tools that happened to get finished before it all went to hell. You need a vision of what D&D is going to look like in the electronic space 2 years from now, you need to communicate that vision to your DDi subscribers, and you need to get busy on it right now, with failure NOT being an option. Otherwise, I'm rapidly running out of reasons to justify this expense.

Wizards, you guys need to wake up. Electronic gaming was *THE* future about 5 years ago. Right now you're being subsidized by gamers who grew up with D&D, and to a lesser extent, gamers who were pulled in when 3e D&D hit the scene. But that gravy train is fast pulling into the station. You're competing with the likes of World of Warcraft and other instant gratification eye-candy that you cannot possibly hope to compete with, without a polished and cohesive set of online tools. You don't have the luxury to just have your under-staffed staff update the tools that happened to get finished before it all went to hell. You need a vision of what D&D is going to look like in the electronic space 2 years from now, you need to communicate that vision to your DDi subscribers, and you need to get busy on it right now, with failure NOT being an option. Otherwise, I'm rapidly running out of reasons to justify this expense.

I intend to ask about getting an extra month added to active subscriptions... I don't know what results, if any, I'll get, but I will at least be asking...

I have not gotten a yes or a no result. What I did get was instructions to advise anyone who feels strongly about it to send an email to CS. If you have feedback, or are frustrated, definitely let them know.

Just to be Clear, there is No guarantee that you will get anything from this.